Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” whether children like the 10-year-old abuse victim who traveled from Ohio to Indiana to get an abortion should be forced to give birth, Noem said: “This tragedy is terrible. I can’t even imagine. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my family or myself… But in South Dakota today, the law says abortion is illegal except to save the life of the mother.” Noem told Bash that he would not be in favor of an amendment of the current law — a so-called trigger law that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — to add an exception for such situations, saying, “I don’t believe that a tragic situation should be perpetuated from another tragedy.”
But Noem signaled that a 10-year-old in that situation could qualify for the state’s life-threatening medical emergency exception.
“I think it’s something that … yeah, that situation, the doctor, the family, the people that are closest to it are going to make the decisions for that family,” she told Bash.
“That’s the interesting thing about the times we’re living in right now,” Noem added. “Each state will have different laws on the books. Decisions will be made by the legislators who are closest to the people. This is appropriate. That’s the way our Constitution intended it to be.”
The recent ruling by a majority of the US Supreme Court that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to abortion has prompted more states to implement their own abortion policies. The decision has already led to a mixed system — as expected — in which access to the procedure for many people is largely determined by whether a state is controlled by Republicans or Democrats. Along with South Dakota, abortion-trigger laws have been implemented in at least three states: Arkansas, Missouri and Wisconsin. Mississippi’s trigger law is set to go into effect on July 7.
Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho and Tennessee await state action, and legal battles over abortion restrictions are underway in more than a dozen states.
Noem was also asked on Sunday about support for paid family leave or greater financial access to childcare.
“That’s a discussion we’re going to have. I think it’s important that we support exactly what I’ve been saying since I’ve been governor, that we want stronger families,” she told Bash. “Many times many people find it difficult to afford the financial costs, the medical costs and the leave policy. But I think the time is right in South Dakota.”
However, Noem said he does not support Medicaid expansion, which is on the state’s November ballot. The measure would cover low-income women without health insurance in South Dakota during and after pregnancy.
CNN’s Devan Cole and Tierney Snead contributed to this report.
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